UT Vols: Lane Kiffin says John Currie has not expressed interest in bringing him back to Tennessee

FILE - In this April 22, 2017, file photo, Florida Atlantic University coach Lane Kiffin stands on the field for the NCAA college football team's spring game in Boca Raton, Fla. Kiffin's first training camp as the head coach at Florida Atlantic starts Thursday, July 27, 2017. The well-traveled lightning rod of a coach, who left Alabama before last season's national championship game, thinks he's more ready to lead a program than ever before .(Jim Rassol/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, File)(Photo: Jim Rassol, AP)

Florida Atlantic coach Lane Kiffin said during an interview on "The Dan Patrick Show" on Wednesday that Tennessee athletic director John Currie hasn't shown interest in bringing Kiffin back to UT.

Kiffin, of course, spent one season as the Vols' coach in 2009, going 7-6, before leaving for Southern California.

“I have not talked to the athletic director," Kiffin told Patrick. "Jimmy Sexton is my agent. You know how those things go. When they first come down, they talk to the agents. John Currie made it clear, I guess, to (Sexton) who he was interested in, and Jimmy had Greg Schiano (as a client) also.”

“The burning of the mattresses and all that stuff, I could see that out the window, but I wasn’t worried for my safety," Kiffin said on the radio show. "All that does, and I said it that next day, that is not a negative, that is the passion of the SEC, especially Tennessee. They’re passionate.

“I’ve said it before: If they were having a party when you left, that’s a bad thing. If they’re burning things, that’s a good thing, because it means they really liked you. They really liked what was going on, and they knew we were going to win a lot of games there. I took it as a positive.”

Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin listens to a question during a news conference at the NFL football team's headquarters in Alameda, Calif. Kiffin spoke about his role with the Raiders.
Paul Sakuma, AP

Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin has a dispute with officials as the University of Tennessee plays Virginia Tech during the Chick-fil-A Bowl in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta GA.
Larry McCormack, The Tennessean

Tennessee guard Jacques McClendon (65) pours water on Head Coach Lane Kiffin after his first SEC win after the University of Tennessee defeated Georgia 45-19 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.
Larry McCormack, The Tennessean

Head Coach Lane Kiffin with quarterback Nick Stephens during the first day of fall practice at the Haslam Field on the University of Tennessee campus on Tuesday.
Amy Smotherman Burgess, Knoxville News Sentinel

Coach Lane Kiffin talks with quarterback Jonathan Crompton (8) as Quarterback coach David Reaves looks on as the University of Tennessee plays Western Kentucky at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.
Larry McCormack, The Tennessean

UT head football coach Lane Kiffin faces a small gathering of media during the University of Tennessee All Sports Picnic at Allen Arena on the Lipscomb University campus in Nashville Thursday, July 23, 2009.
Sanford Myers, The Tennessean

Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin of the Alabama Crimson Tide watches action prior to the University of Alabama A Day spring game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
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Lane Kiffin talks with ArDarius Stewart #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide after he fumbled the ball during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Crimson Tide defeated the Razorbacks 49-30.
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Kiffin has a 9-3 record at FAU after spending three seasons as Alabama's offensive coordinator. The Owls went 3-9 last season.

“The expectations were really low (at FAU), but that wasn’t our expectations," Kiffin said. "When you come to a place like that, the No. 1 goal is, you’ve got to change the way people think. You’ve got to make them think the way that you’re used to thinking, being on championship teams.”

Kiffin has made some playful remarks on Twitter this season regarding Tennessee and his former boss, Alabama coach Nick Saban, who Kiffin called “the greatest coach in the history of college football" during Wednesday's interview with Patrick.

In particular, Kiffin has poked fun at Saban's remark that positive media coverage is "rat poison" for his team.

Patrick asked whether Kiffin was trolling Saban.

“You guys think I’m trolling him, but he doesn’t even know what Twitter is, so he certainly doesn’t see it," he said.